Microsoft is patching a major Windows 10 flaw discovered by the NSA

[blackice]

Content source

https://www.engadget.com/2020/01/14/microsoft-patching-flaw-found-by-nsa/

The IT world is waiting on pins and needles today for a high-profile Microsoft Windows 10 security patch, and now we know why. The US National Security Agency (NSA) reportedly discovered a serious flaw in Windows 10 that could expose users to surveillance or serious data breaches, according to the Washington Post. That was backed by Krebs on Security, which reported that the NSA confirmed that it did find a major vulnerability that it passed on to Microsoft.

In the past, the NSA might have kept the security hole to itself, using it to spy on adversaries. The best examples of that are WannaCry and EternalBlue, Windows 10 vulnerabilities discovered and exploited by the NSA for years. The agency developed hacking tools to exploit those holes, but unfortunately some of them were uncovered and released by a suspected Russian hacking group called Shadow Brokers. EternalBlue is still used to this day on unpatched systems for ransomware, theft and other types of attacks.

The NSA confirmed that the vulnerability affects Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016. It said that it flagged the dangerous bug because it "makes trust vulnerable." However, it wouldn't say when it found the flaw and declined to discuss it further until Microsoft released a patch.

According to Krebs, the vulnerability was found in a Windows component called crypt32.dll, which handles "certificate and cryptographic messaging functions," according to Microsoft. An exploit in that area could affect authentication on Windows desktops and servers, sensitive data on Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Edge browsers and many third-party applications. Hackers could supposedly also use it to spoof digital signatures, making malware look like a legitimate app.

A software patch has already been released to critical Windows 10 clients including the US military and managers of key internet infrastructure. Microsoft will reportedly release a patch to everyone else later today, and Krebs said it will be "a doozy of an update that will need to be addressed immediately by all organizations running Windows." This article will be updated once we hear more from Microsoft.

 

[blackice]

From my agency: all computers must be on the network and will be updated today 1/14, anybody logging in without the update on 1/15 will be quarantined and locked out of the network. They’re taking it pretty seriously.

 

[Bryan320]

Thank you for posting this have not received an update as of yet....

 

[upnorth]

 

[plat]

crypt32.dll is present all the way up to build 19541.1000 (Windows 2004 Insiders). Can't wait for the update,

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Update is live:

/blog/2020/01/january-2020-security-updates-cve-2020-0601/

https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-us/security-guidance

https://support.microsoft.com/nl-nl/help/4528760/windows-10-update-kb4528760

 

[Dave Russo]

Just checked I do have 2 updates for windows 10
1. 2020-01 Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8 for Windows 10 Version 1909 for x64 (KB4532938)
2. 2020-01 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1909 for x64-based Systems (KB4528760)
Do either of these seem to be the patch does anyone know? Missed your link Gandalf_The_Grey or I would not have posted this question,as I typed, your link came before I posted

 

[Bryan320]

Update is now live updating right now!!!!

 

[RoboMan]

Consult: were NSA penalized for exploiting WannaCry and EternalBlue, instead of reporting it?

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Just checked I do have 2 updates for windows 10
1. 2020-01 Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8 for Windows 10 Version 1909 for x64 (KB4532938)
2. 2020-01 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1909 for x64-based Systems (KB4528760)
Do either of these seem to be the patch does anyone know?

As far as I can tell from the links in my post above your's KB4528760 contains the needed patch.

 

[blackice]

Consult: were NSA penalized for exploiting WannaCry and EternalBlue, instead of reporting it?

Penalized by who, they don’t give a...

 

[Azure]

Consult: were NSA penalized for exploiting WannaCry and EternalBlue, instead of reporting it?

Why?

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Windows 10 Cumulative Updates KB4528760 & KB4534273 Released

Windows 10's January 2020 cumulative updates are now rolling out with important fixes for Windows 10 November 2019 Update, May 2019 Update, and October 2018 Update.

www.bleepingcomputer.com

 

[Outpost]

I'm updating right now

 

[MacDefender]

This is pretty bad. Basically for any EC based (not RSA) certificate checking, Windows is not correctly verifying that a certificate comes from the right chain of trust. It allows you in theory to fool Windows to trust any arbitrary validly signed thing as signed by a specific entity. I would even be careful how you install this update and only install it from reasonably trusted networks.

 

[bribon77]

My question is, how many things like this will there be?

 

[MacDefender]

My question is, how many things like this will there be?

It's very similar to Apple's "goto fail" vulnerability which was slightly more serious in that it basically treated all invalid SSL certificates as valid.


One piece of good news: the kind of certificate to exploit the Microsoft vulnerability looks suspicious and is unusual -- it's a EC cert that specifies a custom curve. This is something that you can write a simple IPS rule to catch just by pattern match. The Cisco Talos SNORT rules were updated this morning to block this attack: Microsoft Patch Tuesday — Jan. 2020: Vulnerability disclosures and Snort coverage. A lot of paid IPS rulesets are based off the Talos premium subscriber rules.

 

[numike]

is this the fix? Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool x64 - January 2020 (KB890830)

 

[bunchuu]

Consult: were NSA penalized for exploiting WannaCry and EternalBlue, instead of reporting it?

who can punish them anyway?

 

[ForgottenSeer 823865]

Wait, I just wake up, not yet drink my coffee but do I read some people expect to punish an agency designed to do illegal things?
You don't punish Intel agencies, you slap them on the hand at best...

About the topic, if they reported it, means it is no use for them anymore or they are just broke and need the bug bounty prize lol.